Sergio Pablos is a Spanish animator, director and screenwriter. While at the helm of his company (The SPA Studios), Pablos developed several concepts for animated feature films, most notably the original ideas upon which ''

Despicable Me ''Despicable Me'' is a computer-animated media franchise centering on Gru (Despicable Me), Gru, a reformed super-villain (who later becomes a father, husband, and secret agent), and his yellow-colored Minions (Despicable Me), Minions. It is p ...

'' (

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

and Illumination Entertainment in 2010) and '' Smallfoot'' (produced by the

Warner Animation Group The Warner Animation Group (WAG) is an American animation studio serving as the computer-animated feature film label of Warner Bros.' theatrical film production and distribution division, Warner Bros. Pictures. Established on January 7, 2013, ...

in 2018) were based. Most recently, the SPA Studios has produced Netflix's first original animated feature film, '' Klaus'', written and directed by Pablos.

Early life

Sergio Pablos is from

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. After working as a key animator on ''

Once Upon a Forest ''Once Upon a Forest'' is a 1993 animated musical adventure film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Based on the ''Furlings'' characters created by Rae Lambert, the film was directed by Charles Grosvenor a ...

'' (1993), he moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, France, to pursue a career opportunity at

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fr ...

where he worked on ''

The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story ...

'' (1996) and ''Hercules'' (1997). Pablos was then promoted to a Supervising Animator position at Disney Feature Animation in Burbank, handling the character of Tantor the elephant on ''Tarzan'' (1999), and Dr. Doppler on '' Treasure Planet'' (2002), the latter of which garnered him a nomination for Best Character Animation at the

Annie Awards The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally des ...

Career

Pablos' first job in animation with Disney Studios in Paris was as a character designer on '' A Goofy Movie'' (1995). From that connection he moved to

and began learning the ropes, working as animator or contributing to character designs on several major 2D animation productions, including ''

'' (character of Frollo), ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

'' (character of Hades), ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

'' (character of Tantor the elephant), and '' Treasure Planet'' (character of Doctor Doppler). He was nominated for an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally de ...

for his work on ''Treasure Planet''. Subsequent to his departure from Disney, he was hired as character design supervisor on '' Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild'' for Columbia. After several more years working in animation production, Pablos created the ''Despicable Me'' franchise based on his original screen story ''Evil Me'' and his own art design. He took the package unsolicited to Universal Pictures where he became the first of several screenwriters on the project as well as executive producer. In 2010, ''

''—starring Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Will Arnett, and Julie Andrews—was a box office success, received a Golden Globe nomination, and became one of animation's highest-grossing movies. Pablos continued work as a character designer on another animated feature, ''

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

'' for 20th Century Fox, which was released the following year. He received his second Annie Award nomination for ''Rio''. After the release of ''

Despicable Me 2 ''Despicable Me 2'' is a 2013 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to ''Despicable Me'' (2010), it is directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, and ...

'' in 2013, theatrical markets (worldwide box office) and ancillary markets (home media, cable, merchandising,

books A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physic ...

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...

, TV series,

theme parks An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

, etc.), pushed franchise total revenues to over ten figures. He was the writer for the film

's '' Smallfoot''. He then formed Sergio Pablos Animation Studios in

Madrid, Spain Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, where he made his directorial debut with '' Klaus.''

Personal life

Pablos shares his time between the U.S. and Spain where he is CEO and Creative Director of The SPA Studios in Madrid.

Filmography

Filmmaking credits

Animation credits

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Sergio Pablos
at

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pablos, Sergio Annie Award winners Living people People from Madrid Spanish animated film directors Spanish animators Spanish film directors Spanish screenwriters Walt Disney Animation Studios people Year of birth missing (living people)